Bohemian Rhapsody
by JinnySkeans
Summary: Hold onto the music, kids. In the end, it might be enough to save you. AU, Sasuke/Sakura.
1. It's the End of the World As We Know It

Sasuke stared at the cracked pattern in the table, tuning out the incessant chatter of the other midafternoon diner patrons. He glanced up at the ancient analog clock hanging above the door and saw that his companion was ten minutes late. His already bad mood degenerated even further.

Punctuality was important in his family, a fact that he felt his uncle and agent should be more than familiar with by now, yet here he was, wasting his time waiting for the sleazy bastard to show up. Black eyes narrowed, and with nothing more than a glare, he dismissed the flirtatious waitress who was dancing her way towards him wanting to refill his empty mug of coffee.

The call from Madara was urgent. He wanted to meet to discuss "the band's future prospects" and designated this shitty little diner their meeting spot. Sasuke had no idea what that meant, but he hated and respected his uncle in equal measure. Most of the moves the sly old asshole had made had been beneficial towards the band Sasuke had formed with his high school friends. If Madara had something in mind, Sasuke begrudgingly had to acknowledge that it was probably good.

But that didn't mean he wasn't thoroughly pissed off at being called here to wait.

The others were back at his apartment, no doubt gorging themselves on his food, playing all his videogames, and maybe, in their downtime, writing down a few lyrics to their next song. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Without his disciplined attitude, they would never get around to writing anything, let alone playing it. Ramen Holiday had the potential to be a great band, if his asshole friends would get off their asses and actually contribute to it.

Sasuke folded his arms across his chest and eyed his empty mug as though it had said something offensive to him.

"If you're working the brooding, misunderstood artist angle," a deep, amused voice intoned from behind him, "you're golden, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't bother responding. He turned his frosty glare upon his uncle, who moved around the table and sat across from him, a smirk on his face. Madara Uchiha, his legal guardian until his eighteenth birthday (three months away), and his only surviving family member, looked every bit the sleazy music agent in his three-piece, thousand-dollar suit, a cell phone permanently attached to his hand and a bored, impatient look in his eyes as though everyone and their mother was working his last nerve.

"You're late," Sasuke said coldly.

"I see you're an impatient man so I'll cut to the chase," Madara said flatly, but the tone was so patronizing that Sasuke wished he'd taken the waitress up on her offer to fill his coffee again, if only to have something scalding hot to throw in his uncle's face. "As you know, I called you here to discuss Ramen Holiday's future."

"Hn."

"Well, as you _don't_ know yet because I haven't told you, we've received an offer from Sharingan Records. They might be interested in signing Ramen Holiday to a contract. I have a meeting with them next week to negotiate specifics."

Sasuke was stunned. In Konoha, his band was garnering a bit of attention, but Konoha was also a pretty big music scene. There was a new act every five minutes, it felt like, and even though he had faith in his band's talent, he was shocked that they were so close to actually being signed. And by a huge record label like _Sharingan?_

But Sasuke was not naïve, despite his seventeen years of living in the same town, and he knew his uncle better than to take what he was saying at face value.

"What's the catch?" he asked warily, eyes narrowed.

Madara chuckled and reached inside his sportcoat, retrieving a piece of paper and sliding it towards Sasuke, who caught it and examined it.

"Sakura Haruno," he read. He recognized her as another of Konoha's rising music stars; pink hair was difficult to miss. She was smiling in the flyer, holding a beat-up guitar and wearing ripped-up skinny jeans, sitting on a stool. The flyer advertised a showcase she was playing at that night, along with a time and venue. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Up-and-coming starlet in her own right," Madara replied coolly. He flagged a waitress over and ordered a cup of coffee; she poured him one and he waved her off impatiently. "And, I believe, the missing piece of the puzzle that is Ramen Holiday."

"Let me get this straight." Sasuke's temper flared. "You want her in the band?"

He was so angry he couldn't see clearly. This no-talent female warbler was trying to muscle in on the band he'd put such hard work into?

"Before you go flying off the handle, let me give you the facts. At the moment, your band consists of yourself on lead guitar and vocals. You have that caveman of a best friend pounding out drumbeats no one's ever dreamed of, which gives you an edge. And you have Inuzuka on bass and Hyuuga on keyboards and Nara on back-up guitar and all of that's fine, but a five-man rock band is something that's been done before. You're skilled, but you don't stand out as anything other than yet another rock band that'll be big for awhile and gone in five minutes.

"So we introduce a different element. This girl, whom I'm assuming you've never met personally and whose music I'm certain you are unfamiliar with, is what will help set Ramen Holiday apart from the competition."

"This _girl,_" Sasuke snapped venomously, "couldn't fit in this band in a million years." He slammed the flyer down on the table and ignored the curious stares of the other diner patrons. "What's your angle, Madara? Wanting to bring in a Taylor Swift wannabe who can play 3 chords and call herself a musician into a _rock band_ seconds before we're signed?"

"Excuse me?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft, breathy voice and both men turned to face the newcomer. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

The girl from the flyer, Sakura Haruno, stood at their table with her hands on her hips. She was as pretty as she appeared to be in the flyer, but the sweetness in her eyes did not translate to real life; apparently, she'd heard his crude summation of her and was not at all happy about it.

Not that he cared. This pink-haired dicktrap was trying to ruin their band, and he would have none of it.

"Why, Miss Haruno!" Madara said with a warm smile, and Sasuke shot his uncle a filthy glare as Madara stood graciously and offered Sakura his hand. "My name is Madara Uchiha, we spoke on the phone earlier? Pleased to meet you in person, I'm a big fan of your work."

Sasuke had to hand it to Madara. He really knew how to turn on the charm when he needed to. Bastard.

"Nice to meet you," Sakura returned. She did not look appeased as she continued to glare at Sasuke.

"And this arrogant little brat is my nephew, Sasuke. He's the lead singer of Ramen Holiday and he's much happier to meet you than he looks."

Sasuke's temper flared as Sakura took an empty seat at the table and politely ordered a cup of tea. The waitress looked somewhat relieved to have so pleasant a customer after both Uchiha men gave her garbage, and returned the tea with an overworked smile.

"Now I'm sure you're a very busy young lady so I'll get down to business," Madara began. "I've been to a few of your showcases, most recently the open mic you performed at Ichiraku. I must say, you have a lot of talent, Miss Haruno."

"Thanks," Sakura replied sweetly, and Sasuke was overcome by a desire to wring her pretty neck. "But I'm sure you didn't call me out of school so I could come and listen to compliments all day."

Madara chuckled good-naturedly. "Quite the spitfire, aren't you? All right, then, I'll say it straight: we would like you to be part of Ramen Holiday."

"What?!" Sasuke snapped, but to his surprise, he was not the only one; Sakura too voiced her shock, and they exchanged incredulous stares before rounding on Madara.

"You want _me_ in _his_ band?" Sakura gasped. "_Why?_"

Sasuke was forced to reevaluate his opinion of Sakura. He'd thought she was aware of Madara's intentions, when really, she was just as shocked as him to learn what was going on. That was a point in her favor, but she was still completely, entirely wrong for their band and there was no way he would let her in.

"It would be an interesting dynamic," Madara replied calmly, unaffected by their reactions. "One relatively unheard of. Are you familiar with their music, Miss Haruno?"

"Not really. I've heard of them but there's a lot of new music acts in Konoha."

"Then let me give you the skinny of it: they're an alternative rock band, heavy driving rock beats and an aggressive nature."

"And you think I'm a good fit?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Have you heard my music?"

"It's the exact opposite: lyrical alternative without the assistance of many instruments," replied the smarmy exec. "And a blending of these two sounds would result in a new sound that would be far more appealing to the record companies than just another solo female artist and yet another five-man rock group."

Sasuke gauged Sakura's reaction. Her eyes were narrowed in thought, and finally she spoke.

"I'm a young new act and I don't know much about the business I'm trying to get into," she said. "But if you think for one minute that I'd try to barge my way into a band whose lead singer doesn't want me anywhere near it, just to impress the record execs, then you've underestimated me. There are a lot of other girl acts out there. Why not merge with Kitty Squalor if all you're looking for is a new sound?"

Sasuke was surprised at Sakura's answer. She looked angry, offended, at Madara's proposal, instead of flattered by it. He got the sense that she was used to having to defend herself, and quashed the growing respect for her that threatened.

"Kitty Squalor is the other band attempting to court you, yes, Miss Haruno?" his uncle asked conversationally, seemingly oblivious to Sakura's degenerating temper. "An all-girl band who's gaining quite a bit of local popularity."

"They're going _nowhere,_ and I won't join with them because their music is shallow and half-assed," Sakura snapped. "Their lead singer is Ami Watanabe and I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to perform with your band."

Madara smiled and finished off the last of his coffee.

"I'll tell you what," he said coolly. "It seems that I have offended you with my offer, and while I am somewhat disappointed in your aversion to it, I confess it was my own fault for coming here with such certainty that you would see things my way. It was a case of wishful thinking, and I apologize for my presumption.

"But before you dismiss the idea entirely, _both of you,_" he added, with a severe look at Sasuke, "at least entertain the idea of watching one another perform. You have a gig this evening, yes, Miss Haruno?"

Sakura nodded.

"Then my surly young nephew will attend, along with his bandmates. I invite you to attend their show tomorrow evening at the Bridge. Leave any decision-making until after you've seen each other perform. Is that an agreeable compromise?"

Sakura did not look happy, Sasuke noted. And that suited him fine, because he wasn't happy either. But he knew an order when he heard one. Madara was not asking him to see her perform. He was telling him.

"I'll go," she said diplomatically, her stormy green eyes suspicious. "But I promise _nothing._"

"Aa," he muttered in agreement.

Madara looked delighted.

"Excellent!" he said with a wide smile Sasuke recognized as the kind he gave when he was feeling particularly victorious.

_Enjoy it while you can,_ he thought viciously, glaring at Sakura as she stood, paid for her tea, and politely excused herself without another glance in his direction. _Because there is absolutely no WAY I'm letting a girl like THAT into my band._

_No way in hell._

**Note..** Hello! Hope you're all having a wonderful week! Love y'all.

Xoxo Daisy Jane


	2. Sister Christian

Sakura knew she was attracting a fair amount of attention as she stalked furiously down the street, but with loud pink hair and a guitar slung on her back, that was usually the case.

The _nerve_ of that asshole agent. AND his asshole nephew.

Konoha was a huge music scene. Many of the greats had gotten their start here, and Sakura hoped to be one of them. She knew that her age, appearance, and inexperience were working against her.

If Madara Uchiha thought he was the only sleazy would-be executive in this town trying to capitalize on her naivete, he had another thing coming.

Sakura was no idiot.

She knew she had a lot of talent; she was too practical to waste her time trying to break into an industry like this to do otherwise. If she had the slightest doubts in herself, she would have abandoned this dream where it was born in elementary school.

She rounded the corner past the coffee shop and glared at everyone who glanced at her funny, even if she kind of understood their curiosity. She had bright pink (natural!) hair, and the guitar on her back was nearly as tall as she was, and with her short stature she always stood out in the crowd.

It's what might make her a star one day, even if it was a real pain in the ass at the moment when all she wanted was a little solitude after enduring YET ANOTHER presumptuous, insulting meeting with yet another presumptuous, insulting agent looking to snare a competitive edge.

She'd heard of Ramen Holiday before, and knew they were close to making it big, if the rumors were to be believed. As a fierce admirer of Audrey Hepburn and classic movies, she begrudgingly gave them credit on their band name: Roman Holiday happened to be one of her favorite films of all time. The 'Ramen' twist on it was unexpected, but made the name memorable, at least.

She wasn't sure why exactly she agreed to attend one of their shows. She was a solo act, after all, and hadn't so much as considered signing with a band, let alone one with a lead singer who was so averse to her joining that he couldn't even fake cooperation.

But there was something in his eyes she saw that she understood. Even if she disliked Sasuke Uchiha (and she did), she felt a connection with him that transcended his dreadful first impression. There was that same determination in his eyes that she knew burned in her own.

He was just like her. A star-in-the-making, at least in his own head, who was doing everything he could to get his big break. And just like Sakura, he was completely unwilling to do anything he felt contradicted his passion and his music; his violent objection to her inclusion in Ramen Holiday was testament to that.

Even if she resented his rudeness and his closemindedness, she had to respect how committed to his dream he was. She more than understood.

Dozens of disappointed girl bands trying to recruit her were proof enough of that.

Sakura paused in the park and exhaled sharply through her nose, trying to calm herself down. She knew she had a terrible temper, that she was stubborn and hardheaded and very, very difficult to reason with when she was angry. It could be very beneficial or very detrimental to her upcoming career, but succumbing to her indignation that she'd been solicited yet again by a smarmy suit wouldn't do her any good.

_Just calm down,_ she thought with a heavy sigh, making her way towards her favorite bench underneath a cherry tree. She sat down on the cool concrete, folding her legs beneath her, and pulled her guitar off her back to let it rest in her lap. Well-practiced fingers strummed a few lazy, warm-up chords and the sweet, simple tones relaxed her somewhat. _You don't have to do anything you don't want to. What harm can it do to check out one of their shows? Best case scenario, I have a great time and see a great new act. Worst case scenario, I have an awful time, go home, and forget the whole night ever happened._

It wouldn't do to take offense to both Madara's presumptuous offer, and Sasuke's blunt rejection. In the end, they were all just trying to make it big. See their name in lights, and whatever. Sakura really couldn't begrudge Sasuke the fact that he wanted to make it on his own.

Having a teenage girl in the band, talented as she was, might come across like a gimmick. And Sakura was a firm, staunch believer in working hard and allowing talent to shine through above all else. She wasn't going to rely on her appearance (deceptively fragile) or her sex appeal (that worked agaisnt her more often than not.)

She wrote songs. She sang songs. She played songs and they came from her heart. And if that alone wasn't enough to make her famous, then at least she could say she never sold out.

* * *

Her gig that night was at a dusty little bar in the art district. She'd played there before a handful of times, and had garnered a decent fan base. Everyone there was familiar with most of her songs, and she loved the little stool on the dirty stage where countless acts before her had gotten their start.

Kakashi's Café was an institution in Konoha.

She arrived an hour before her set was to begin, with the agreed-upon six-song playlist in her head. Kakashi greeted her at the back entrance with what she presumed was a smile on his face; he always wore a bandana. She'd never actually laid eyes on his face before.

"Hey, there, Sakura!" he said cheerfully, ruffling her hair as she slipped inside the back door. "Glad you could make it tonight, got a full house for you."

"That's great!" she said happily. "You don't mind me playing, though? I know my music's a little tame for this place."

He laughed as they headed down the narrow hallway to the changing rooms and held the door open for her.

"This place is reserved for good musicians," he corrected her. "And Sakura, you make all my customers fall in love with you every time you come here. It's a special, special thing, to have that kind of power over all these strangers…and it's just you and that beat-up old guitar of yours. You're why I opened this place up to begin with, people like you."

Praise from Kakashi, who'd run this old bar for years in one of the seedier districts in town, was hard-won. He'd seen it all, every act who'd made it big here and every act who'd tanked, and to hear him speak so highly of her music made her want to cry.

But Kakashi's was a rock bar, and there was no time for tears.

Instead, she smiled beautifully at him before gesturing to the door.

"Now get out, you old pervert," she said teasingly. "I need to get pretty."

Kakashi chuckled and replied, "You were born pretty, Sakura. Don't take too long, I have Genma's band onstage at the moment and from the sound of it," they both listened to hear a chorus of 'Boos' and broken glass, "he's not doing too well."

He left, and Sakura was alone in the changing room, which was little more than a supply closet with a mirror hung from the wall, but starving artists couldn't complain about a sweet gig like this. She'd make $500 tonight if everything went off without a hitch.

She set her guitar down next to the door and unzipped her backpack, which held a change of clothes and a bag of makeup. Sakura might be a practical thinker, but she was still a girl, which meant she absolutely _loved_ to get pretty.

It might have been contradictory of her, to want to be taken seriously for her craft, but devote time and effort to her appearance; but Sakura didn't believe one should have to sacrifice femininity to make a point, so she didn't.

She'd changed into a cream-colored dress with a sleeveless denim vest over top and was starting in on her hair when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she called.

"Sasuke."

She frowned. _From this afternoon?_ She thought, confused. _I never thought he'd actually show up!_

"Oh. Um, hang on, just a second!"

She set down the straightener on the countertop and slipped on a pair of boots before answering the door.

The boy from this afternoon stood there with his hands in his pockets, dressed in jeans and a V-neck T-shirt underneath a leather jacket, a scowl on his face. Begrudgingly, she wondered why someone with such a rotten attitude had to have so deceptively gorgeous a face.

"Hey," she said cautiously, but not unkindly; after calming down a bit from earlier, she realized that Sasuke wanting to protect the band he'd built from the ground up against any intrusion was not a personal attack. She could respect that about him, and at the very least be civil to him. "What's up?"

He looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, before replying.

"I'm here. With my band. To see your set."

"Oh," she said, surprised. "Your band's here, too?"

"Hn. I promised my uncle."

"Look, Sasuke, if you don't want to be here, you don't have to be. Your uncle told me absolutely nothing about wanting me to join your band until I got to that diner today, I never would have solicited you guys. I've never even heard you play before."

He sighed. "I know. That's mostly why I came."

She got the sense that this was about as close to an apology as she was going to get for his rude behavior earlier. Bizarrely, she was somewhat satisfied with that.

"I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to muscle in on you guys," she added, before glancing at the clock hanging in the hallway behind Sasuke. "Shit, I only have a few more minutes. Here, you can come in, I'm just finishing my hair." She gestured to the half-straightened mass of pink curls on top of her head, then to a chair by the doorway to the cramped little changing room.

To her surprise, Sasuke came inside at her invitation and closed the door behind him before taking a seat. Not quite as uncomfortable as she thought she should feel, alone in this tiny room with a boy she barely knew, she turned back to the mirror and picked up the straightener again to finish her hair.

Sasuke picked up her beat-up guitar and was examining it, testing its weight; she watched him in the mirror as his long fingers plucked the strings.

"This is a girl guitar," he mumbled.

She giggled. "I AM a girl, if it escaped your attention."

He smirked and began tuning her guitar for her; she decided she liked the picture he made in the little changing room, his fingers testing strings and strumming chords. Even if she let ABSOLUTELY NO ONE touch her guitar.

"Who does your sound check?" he asked.

"Don't really need one, honestly," she replied, unplugging her straightener now that her long pink hair was one perfect sheet. She uncapped her mascara and touched up her eyelashes. "I don't have a backup band. As long as the mic works and no one's screaming too loud."

Sasuke was quiet at that, and to her surprise, when she looked at him in the mirror, he was already looking at her.

"I don't get why he wants you in Ramen Holiday," he muttered. "You don't even have a back-up band."

She shrugged. "It's all about finding a new sound, I guess. The whole solo girl act's been done before. Same as your five-man rock group. Makes it really hard to break into the industry without some type of gimmick. But you know something, Sasuke?"

Here she turned around to face him, before grabbing her guitar out of his lap. His dark eyes met hers curiously.

"I'm not going to be Ramen Holiday's gimmick," she said with a smile. "You can watch my set if you want, and I hope you like it. But just know you're not the only one with reservations about this. Thanks for tuning Shannaro."

He raised an eyebrow.

"My guitar," she explained, giggling. "I gotta get backstage now. Do I look okay?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood to head back to the crowd, where his band was waiting for him. "You look like a girl."

Sakura wouldn't say she liked Sasuke Uchiha, but she damn sure didn't dislike him at that moment.

* * *

"All right, how's everybody doing tonight?" Sakura recognized the voice hyping up the crowd as belonging to Raidou, one of the barbacks at Kakashi's. She giggled nervously; this was the most nerve-wracking moment of the evening, preparing to go onstage.

Everyone cheered in response, whether in excitement that Sakura was up next or relief that Genma and his band were finally finished, she couldn't tell. She liked to think it was the former, but it was most likely the latter.

"Our last act tonight at Kakashi's is one you all know and love," Raidou went on. "The little songbird from the slums, the angel on your airwaves, the beautiful, the incomparable SAKURA HARUNO!"

This time, the cheers that exploded from the crowd really _were_ for her, and Sakura found herself laughing before she stepped into the limelight. Raidou passed her on the way out long enough for her to mutter, "Laying it on a little thick, huh?" and he laughed in response before clapping her on the shoulder and replying, "Good luck, kiddo!"

Then, it was just her.

The anxiety in her stomach was replaced by a bizarre sense of calm as she hopped up onto the stool that was a little too high for someone of her height, guitar in hand. She crossed her legs and strummed a few quick practice chords before adjusting the microphone height to her chin.

"Hey, everyone," she said with a smile, and she fell a little bit more in love with the crowd and the bar and her art when everyone cheered in response. It was impossible to see anybody in the darkness of the room, with the lights shining blindingly in her eyes, but she preferred it like that. Just her, and her guitar, and the words she spun into songs because this was what she was born to do.

"I'm Sakura." A chorus of whistles and catcalls emboldened her slightly; if only in this little bar, she was beautiful, she was immortal, she was a queen. To these silly people in this silly spot, she was everything she admired in her own musician heroes, and she was in love again. In love with music and magic and a bar she was too young to get into in the first place.

It was easy to forget that this was an audition, as much as a performance. So she DID forget. She forgot about Sasuke, and the nameless members of his band staring back at her from one of the round tables in the audience. She forgot about Madara in his expensive suit and his insultingly-obnoxious proposal. She forgot about everything except the chords to her newest song, and full of love and devoid of frustration, she opened her mouth to sing.

* * *

**note..** Hellooooo! Get at me, readers. I love you.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxox Daisygirl.


	3. Hard Rock Hotel

Sasuke had never played Kakashi's Café before.

It was an institution among the Konoha music scene. Small, almost seedy, but the birthplace of more than one major Konoha act.

Against his will, he was impressed that Sakura was performing here. And it didn't seem to be her first time, either; watching her pass by the barback who'd announced her onstage, he saw that she laughed and joked around with him like they'd met before.

He sat at one of the round wooden tables in the audience, his bandmates attacking a large basket of bar fries while they waited for Sakura to begin her set. The bar was crowded, as always, and the floor was smoky. Kakashi's was one of the last places in the city you could smoke at anymore, and even if Sasuke wasn't a nicotine addict like Shikamaru, he enjoyed a smoke or two with dinner on occasion. The cigarette smell was appealing, and he lit one of his own with a match from the matchbook on the table.

"That's her?" Naruto asked excitedly, as they all watched Sakura hop up onto a wooden stool that looked to be too big for her. "The girl your uncle wants in the band? Wow! You didn't say she was so pretty!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'll say!" Kiba laughed, wolf-whistling, along with a good deal of the male members of the audience.

Sasuke couldn't disagree, but he was the only one who saw a problem with this.

Sakura was a very pretty girl, and if the crowd reaction was any indication, everyone seemed to be struck by her beauty. And as nice as that was, it _wasn't_ what Ramen Holiday was about. Sasuke was roughly proud of their song-writing and musicianship, and it seemed canny and desperate to resort to appealing to the baser needs of their male clientele.

Ramen Holiday was about music, life, expression. And Sasuke felt that they were good enough on their own.

Bringing in a girl as eye candy violated everything he believed in.

"She's definitely eye candy," Shikamaru said flatly, stubbing out his cigarette and immediately lighting a new one. Sasuke shot him a look of irritation; normally Shikamaru could be counted on as an impartial, unbiased voice of reason, but it seemed he too was smitten with the tiny songstress on the stool. "But that could work in our favor."

"Of course it could," Neji agreed. "But let's hear her first. There's nothing special about a pretty face in this business, not anymore. You need to have the talent to back it up."

"Tell that to Kitty Squalor," snickered Kiba.

Sasuke knew of Kitty Squalor, a rising all-girl band from the wealthier side of town. He also remembered Madara mentioning that they'd been trying to recruit Sakura to their ranks, and that she'd been violently opposed to the idea. He could certainly understand that, especially if she was as talented as Madara said she was.

He watched her adjust the microphone lower and she strummed a few practice chords quickly, to warm up her fingers. Her guitar was tuned perfectly (thanks to him), and she smiled at the audience, a perfect mixture of sweetness and immortality.

He was struck by her stage presence, even beyond her good looks. There was such a bone-deep confidence in her that seemed to light her up from the inside out. Her posture was relaxed, natural, and her slender fingers looked at home framed against the frets of the beat-up old guitar she was holding.

She looked perfectly comfortable where she was sitting, bathed in the warm brightness of the ancient stagelights shining on stage. Sasuke had seen people choke like crazy when they had to face the audience, and if he was being honest with himself, he'd faced more than his share of anxiety in the first few seconds of a performance. But Sakura, by contrast, seemed completely at ease with what was happening.

That kind of confidence was hard to come by in an industry as punishingly disappointing as the one he was trying to break into. It wasn't arrogance, it wasn't cockiness, it wasn't conceit. It was something beyond that. She was self-assured.

She looked like she was having _fun._

"Hi, everyone!" Sakura said sweetly. Approachable and untouchable all at once.

The crowd clapped and whistled in return. Sasuke's eyes shifted around the bar, and he noted that everyone seemed to be paying attention to her. It wasn't uncommon, at small shows like this one, for the act onstage to be ignored completely. The band ahead of Sakura had been thoroughly disregarded by many of the kinder audience members; the only attention they'd managed to attract had been overwhelmingly negative.

But no one was hollering or throwing things at Sakura, who was preparing to sing.

"I'm Sakura, and I've been here a couple of times before," she said. "Just don't tell my parents," she added, and everyone chuckled.

They were absolutely _smitten_ with her, Sasuke couldn't help but notice.

It was a point in her favor, anyway.

"So here's a few songs I've been working on," Sakura continued. "Let me know what you think, huh?"

"Here she goes!" Naruto said in his estimation of a whisper, which was rather loud by anyone else's standards. "If she can play half as good as she looks, she's in!"

"Hell, I don't care if she's never held a guitar before in her life!" Kiba murmured, almost reverently. "She looks like a fucking supermodel!"

"Just listen, you idiot," Shikamaru drawled.

If Sasuke was being honest with himself, he could accurately say that he didn't expect much out of Sakura, mostly because he, like everyone else, judged her on appearance alone. And appearance-wise, however attractive she was, she looked like she might have mastered three or four chords, and would pair it with amateurish lyrics sung in a high falsetto.

Nothing special. Done a million times before.

But when Sakura began to play, he was forced to reevaluate his first impression completely.

He recognized which chords she was playing by the position of her fingers, nimble and quick on the frets. They weren't isolated G or C chords, the easiest to strum; she moved quickly, effortlessly, and it was difficult for even his sharp eyes to trace what she was playing.

The introduction lacked the saccharine sweetness he'd unconsciously associated with her bubblegum appearance. The rhythms she played were complex and her sound was original. He didn't think he'd ever heard melodies like hers before, and in a town like Konoha, which had up-and-coming musicians on every block and kids were taught to play instruments before they were taught to read, that was really saying something.

Then, she opened her mouth to sing.

Her voice wasn't as high-pitched as he was expecting. It was breathy, raspy, and it made him think of sex; for a guy like him, who avoided girls because they were complete and utter distractions, this was no small feat. He found himself ignoring the subject of her introductory song, and paying attention to the warm, sensual sound of her voice instead.

Somehow, he tore his gaze away from her to gauge his bandmates' reaction. Unsurprisingly, all of them were enthralled with her performance, staring at her with mouths agape, apparently so impressed with her that they couldn't even be bothered to make a salacious comment about her, as they'd been doing since she came onstage.

Sasuke was forced to rethink his idea of this Sakura Haruno girl.

He'd met her and immediately condemned her for being a desperate chick would-be rock star trying to muscle her way into his band, and was wrong about that.

He'd taken one look at her slender fingers and dismissed her as a half-talent wannabe who could only strum the basic chords on her ancient guitar, and was wrong about that.

He'd considered her fairy tale princess appearance and wrote her off as a shrieky, shrewish, high-pitched singer with half-assed rhythms, and was wrong about that, too.

He inhaled on his cigarette again and stubbed it out in the ash tray, his gaze on Sakura and very calculating.

There was more to her, apparently, than met the eye.

She finished her first song to raucous applause, and smiled and giggled in a way that made her look both relatable and approachable, and inclined her head to acknowledge the crowd's approving reaction. She said something jokingly to the smitten audience and was rewarded with laughter and cheers and, Sasuke noticed, a rare thumbs-up from Kakashi, who was watching from behind the bar.

"She's in," Naruto said flatly, with a firm nod to assure himself. He leaned back in the hard-backed chair and grinned. "Absolutely, she's in."

"I agree," Neji chimed in. "Sasuke her guitar playing is on par with yours."

Normally, Sasuke might have resented that comment, since as far as anyone was concerned, his skills on the guitar were prodigious, and practically no one matched up. The idea that this 4'9" little fairy could shred as well as he could sounded laughable at first, but he'd seen her play himself.

She'd snared him with just one _song._

"Are we even sure she wants to join us?" Shikamaru asked, with one eyebrow raised.

"Why wouldn't she want to join us?" Kiba chuckled. "I got a few reasons that might make it worth her while!"

Sasuke wasn't sure why he resented the implication in Kiba's words, but he did. He said nothing, and watched as Sakura began her second song, which was more upbeat than her intro.

He'd make the offer after her set.

* * *

Sakura performed all six of her songs as scheduled, and finished with two covers of famous songs from Konoha acts that made it big years ago, as an encore to an exuberant crowd. Then she hopped off her stool, smoothed down her dress, and bowed to a standing ovation.

Beaming, she called, "Thanks so much for listening, everyone! Safe driving!"

Then she danced more than exited the stage.

Sasuke had no intention of watching the next band perform, some hard-core rock group he'd heard before. Once Sakura headed offstage, he stood abruptly, the legs of his chair scraping against the hard wood floor.

"Let's go," he said to his band, all of whom rose as well, and they negotiated their way through the upbeat crowd to the dressing rooms, where Sakura was decompressing after her set.

The door was open, and Sasuke found her shaking Kakashi's hand.

"You were wonderful, as always!" Kakashi was saying warmly, while Sakura positively _glowed._ Sasuke saw that her forehead glistened with sweat and she was breathing heavily in exhaustion, but she looked absolutely radiant in her happiness. Even if he wasn't as expressive as she was, he could easily relate to the post-performance euphoria she was experiencing. It showed all over her face.

"Thanks, Kakashi!" she said breathlessly.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, and she turned around and, to his surpise, smiled even brighter.

"You actually stayed!" she exclaimed, and Sasuke was _shocked_ when she threw her arms around his neck. He froze completely in place as she drew back and added, "I thought for sure you'd bail before I went on. Oh, are these guys your band? Hi, everyone, I'm Sakura! Please excuse the temporary hyperactivity, I'm just riding that post-set high at the moment."

Sasuke's skin tingled where she touched him, but he said nothing as the guys stepped forward to introduce themselves. Predictably, Naruto reached her first, and shook her hand vigorously.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" he said loudly. "Kickass drummer extraordinaire, I'm sure you've already heard of me, right?"

"Um…"

"Of course you have! Man, Sakura, you were AWESOME! I never heard anyone who could shred like the asshole could!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his best friend's moniker for him, while Sakura laughed, and Naruto's place was quickly taken by Kiba.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura, babe," he said, with a grin that Sasuke assumed was his estimation of suave, but judging by the skeptical look on Sakura's face, she was neither convinced, nor impressed. "I'm Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka. I play bass and might I say you looked _mighty_ fine on that stage. Where'd a girl like you come from, anyways?"

"South Side," she replied coolly. "And don't call me babe."

"Sure thing, baby."

"I'm Neji Hyuuga," Neji interrupted, apparently sensing that Kiba wasn't going to let up unless he was bodily removed. He offered his hand to Sakura, who shook it politely. "Keyboards. You were fantastic up there. It's very nice to meet you."

Whatever offense Sakura might have taken to Kiba's less-than-gentlemanly introduction was thoroughly eradicated at Neji's polite one.

"Nice to meet you, too," she said cheerfully. "Thanks for coming!"

"I'm Shikamaru, I'm backup guitar," Shikamaru went on. "Though I might find myself out of a job if you decide to join us."

The guys laughed, but Sakura's eyes flickered to Sasuke.

"Before we get to any of that," she said, holding his gaze, "what did you think of my set?"

The other guys immediately rattled off compliments and how great she was, but Sakura seemed intent on hearing Sasuke's opinion of her. He couldn't blame her for wanting his reaction; after the unsavory first impressions they left on one another, of course she'd want to hear what he thought of her now that he'd heard her music.

He needed to think this through, and judging by the expectation on Sakura's face, he didn't have a ton of time to do that.

Was she good? Yes.

Did she have a future? Absolutely.

Was that future with Ramen Holiday?

He wasn't sure.

Was he compromising everything his band was about? Music and fun and life? Was this just a gimmick, like Sakura had said?

Was she eye candy to draw in a broader audience? Or did her skills as a solo artist translate to the rock band he'd worked so hard for?

Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, and Kiba were all confident that she could fit in well with them, even if musically, stylistically, she was the almost diametric opposite of Ramen Holiday. She'd snared his entire band with just six original songs, two covers, and a sweet, sunny smile.

What about him?

"You were good," he replied coolly, before he could change his mind. And it was true.

It wasn't a 'Welcome to Ramen Holiday.' It wasn't a 'You'll fit in perfectly with our band,' because Sasuke still had his doubts. But it was true: Sakura was fantastic.

And, what was more, she hadn't so much as _asked_ him if he wanted her in the band. She just wanted to hear what he thought of her set, and he told her.

She smiled again, completely satisfied with that.

"So how 'bout it, baby?" Kiba prodded. "Our band practices nights, you can come by Sasuke's garage and we'll fit you up with an amp, teach you our songs…"

Sakura's eyes narrowed, and Kakashi whistled lowly before excusing himself from the dressing room, apparently sensing an oncoming storm. Sasuke wasn't sure why, since he didn't know Sakura very well yet, but whatever Kakashi sensed, he was picking up on it, too. It was like there was a shift in the atmosphere, and sweet, sunny Sakura was about to explode with an intensity none of them were ready for.

"I didn't say I wanted to join your band," Sakura said, her voice ice cold.

"You…don't?" Naruto asked, confused. "Then…why are we here? I thought you were gonna join up with us if we liked your set, and we loved it!"

"It's great that you guys want me to come with you, I really appreciate it. It's flattering. But did you ever actually ask if _I_ wanted to join? What about that?"

Sasuke was surprised. He'd just assumed that Sakura's desire had been to prove herself talent-wise to the members of Ramen Holiday, and that this performance was as much an audition as it was a gig for her. He was thrown completely off-kilter now, because she made a great point.

Sakura had never actually said she wanted to be a part of Ramen Holiday in the first place.

"Awwww!" Naruto whined. "Come on, Sakura! You'd be great with our band! Believe it!"

"You're asking me to do something completely against everything I worked for," she informed them, her hands on her hips, her guitar slung over her back again. "I don't rely on a backup band. I do my own sound checks if they're necessary, I write my _own_ music, and I am _no one's back-up guitarist._" Here she pinned Shikamaru with an accusatory glare.

"I'm not writing the idea off," she amended, apparently noticing the disappointed looks on everyone's faces, and Sasuke sincerely hoped his own expression was neutral, lest she get any ideas. "But you can't just waltz in here and expect me to completely redefine my dreams just because you think I can give you an edge."

"Come to our show tomorrow night," Sasuke said, his tone completely collected, and everyone glanced at him in surprise. "Hear our music and we'll figure it out then."

Sakura studied him for a moment before nodding. "Okay, sure. That's fair; you saw my set, I'll see yours. I've heard nothing but great things about your band."

"All right!" Naruto exclaimed, perking up instantly. "Then let's all get dinner! You, too, Sakura!"

"It's almost midnight," she said skeptically.

"Exactly!" Kiba chimed in. "Come eat with us, get to know us a little bit, and we can walk you home. Make sure nothing happens to a pretty girl like you."

She shrugged. "Uh, okay. Yeah, sure. Let me just change really quick. It's gross but I think I sweated through this dress."

"Need any help in there?" Kiba asked suggestively, but she slammed the door in his face and shut him down completely.

Sasuke wasn't sure why that pleased him, but it did. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pondered the turn things had taken lately.

Madara was the one pushing them together so intensely, pulling the strings from behind the scenes like he always did. And even if Sasuke detested his uncle, he also respected him for his skills at his job; Madara had an ear for talent, a mind for the competitive music business, and was rarely, if ever, wrong about his decisions.

His bandmates were entirely on board with the idea of bringing Sakura along to the Sharingan label signing. Talent-wise she'd proven herself to them, and if he was being honest with himself, she'd proven herself to him as well. With a little tweaking, there was no doubt in his mind she could be an asset to Ramen Holiday.

But did she fit in?

Did she even want to?

She emerged from the dressing room in the same ripped jeans from earlier, with a Blue Konan t-shirt and her long hair up in a ponytail, her guitar on her back. She smiled up at him and he nodded once towards the door, signifying it was time to leave, and Ramen Holiday, plus Sakura Haruno, left the bar together.

He decided not to stress about it any longer. He'd leave it up to Sakura, once she saw their show tomorrow night.

Whatever happened now, the fate of Ramen Holiday was out of his hands.

* * *

**note..** Hello! Here you go, hope you like Chapter 3. And please, please, please refrain from asking me to update certain stories ahead of others. It's frustrating because I do what I can when I can (there's a thing called real life, duckies, and it's important to have one.) I want to hear what you think about the story, not the order you think I should update them in. I PROMISE I PROMISE I SWEAR I'LL FINISH EVERYTHING I HAVE UP JUST LET ME DO IT AT MY OWN PACE YAFEELME YAFEELME I STILL LOVE YOU.

xoxo daisy


	4. Kashmir

They weren't just good.

They were _good._

Sakura sat at the bar, legs dangling off the stool because she was never going to be tall enough to _not_ dangle, watching Ramen Holiday perform their set. She clutched a nonalcoholic drink in front of her, but barely touched it, eyes glued to the performance.

Sasuke's voice was electric. He spoke in such a deep, velvety baritone, but it didn't translate at all to his singing. It was low, raw, rough, and, though she didn't want to admit it, _sexy._ At the same time, though, there was a vulnerable quality to his voice as well, like he was bearing his soul to the audience, and maybe he was. The brooding, misunderstood artist angle he was rocking was golden, but Sakura wondered if maybe there was more to him than that.

She _loved_ his voice.

For a lead singer, though, his band joined in frequently as back-up. They traded solos; while Sasuke played a really intricate guitar solo that Sakura secretly, passionately envied, Naruto pounded an insane drum cacophony Sakura could hardly keep time to. Kiba's bass playing held the band together, and Neji's keyboards added a stirring, almost feminine rhythm so the beat never dragged. And Shikamaru on back-up guitar supported Sasuke, whose fingers moved so quickly and fluidly that Sakura, a seasoned guitarist herself, could barely follow along.

Their lyrics were great, their melodies amazing, their sound unique. The audience loved them. Girls screamed and clawed their way towards the stage, guys nodded along to the music and raised their glasses in approval. Ramen Holiday had all the makings of a great band.

But where did that leave her?

_They just don't seem like they NEED me,_ she thought, frowning as she tried to puzzle out the situation. _Their manager seems adamant on including me, but I don't really understand why. Besides the obvious reason that it's unexpected, and might give them a leg up on the competition…it just doesn't feel like it's necessary. They're gonna be stars one day in their own right._

Ramen Holiday finished their set, Naruto throwing his drumsticks into the audience in farewell; they departed to uproarious applause offstage.

Sakura stood off the bar stool. It would be impossible trying to negotiate her way through the crowd of people trying to follow them, even if she'd told them she would catch up with them after their set. She wasn't really sure how Sasuke and the others had found her last night at Kakashi's, knowing how hectic things could be after a performance. Instead, she texted Sasuke quickly, telling him to meet her at the diner they'd eaten at the previous night.

* * *

To her surprise, Sasuke came alone. She'd expected him to bring his bandmates for backup, since she got the sense that he wasn't one to be overly comfortable around relative strangers. And yeah, they'd hung out the night before, but it wasn't like they were best friends now after a few hours at a diner.

So when he walked in after his set, painfully handsome in a T-shirt and jeans, eyes deep deep black and settling on her at the booth she sat at, she was surprised that he was by himself.

He sat down across from her, and quietly ordered a coffee when the waitress came by to flirt with him. Sakura didn't miss the exchange; she'd seen the waitress eyeing Sasuke up the moment he'd walked in the diner. Sasuke didn't appear to have noticed.

_He must get that a lot,_ she thought, amused, as she smiled at him. "Hey, Sasuke."

"Hey."

His eyebrows were raised, as if to say, _So…?_ Impatient, quick to the chase, no-nonsense.

They had that in common, then.

"Well, I'll start off by saying I thought you guys were fucking unbelievable," she said, and she watched as a smug, satisfied smirk stretched Sasuke's thin lips. "Sasuke, I'm serious. You were all so incredible. I wish I could play Shannaro like you play, your fingers went so fast…I can usually follow shit like that, but I could barely keep up with you! You changed chords so quickly but you didn't waste any time, and…"

"So what's the decision?" he cut her off. Apparently the knowledge that she'd liked his music was enough for him; he didn't need to hear her ramble on and on about how glorious they were. _He must get THAT a lot, too._

"Well, here's the thing," she said, leaning back on the plastic seat, brushing her stubborn bangs out of her eyes so she could look at him properly. "I didn't think I'd like your music at first. No offense but you guys look like a pretty typical band, you know? But after hearing you, I think you have a really original sound that people would really, really like."

"So…"

"Honestly, I loved your music," she admitted. "But I just don't see how I'd fit in. Honestly, Sasuke, I don't think you need me to."

"Of course we don't need you to," he replied haughtily, like the very suggestion of it was ridiculous. He took the mug of coffee the clueless waitress brought back to him and sipped it arrogantly, even though it was boiling hot. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "We don't _need_ anything. Are you in or out?"

Sakura was taken aback. This hadn't occurred to her.

Sasuke admitted that Ramen Holiday didn't need Sakura to succeed. It wasn't like her inclusion was a make-or-break scenario for his band; she had no doubts that they'd make it on their own, and apparently, Sasuke had had no doubts either.

But he still wanted her to come?

That was a game changer. Because now, it was starting to sound like fun.

She smirked slowly at him, her eyelashes lowering, as she leaned in and murmured, "Are you saying you _want_ me to come along with you guys?"

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Would you rather slum it with _Kitty Squalor?_" he returned, a knowing smirk on his face this time, and she laughed.

"Do you really see a place for me, though?" she asked him. That was her one remaining concern. Could they really take Sakura's solo sound and assimilate it cohesively into Ramen Holiday's band dynamic? She had her own dreams, too, and didn't want them to be forgotten in the merger. "Because," she added, somewhat fiercely, "I _refuse_ to play backup guitar."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"You will for some songs," he muttered almost threateningly, but Sakura had to concede that that was fair. She couldn't really expect to join someone else's already-assembled band and take their job away from them. Besides, she knew she could shred on guitar, but to say that she was better than Sasuke would have been a lie; he was amazing.

"Okay," she said flatly.

He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate.

"Okay, I'll join," she clarified. "Just…this is really important to me, too, Sasuke. It's my dream. I don't want my music and my sound to get lost in translation. You know?"

Sasuke nodded curtly, and something in his expression told her that he understood where she was coming from.

Wordlessly, he reached out a hand to her, and she took it, her fingertips absently tracing the callouses on his skin, knowing she had the same ones. His hand was unexpectedly warm; he seemed so cold all the time, forbidding even, but there was a human warmth to him that took her by surprise. A thrill of what she refused to believe were butterflies floated through her stomach at his touch, and she kept her face carefree and friendly as they shook hands.

"All right, that's settled, then," she said, with what she hoped was serenity. "So. Now what?"

* * *

"I see you've had time to consider my offer," Madara said, surveying her from behind his laced fingertips. The ornate, fine-crafted mahogany desk dividing them reminded her of the only time she'd been in trouble in elementary school, for beating up a boy who pulled her hair. The more she saw of Sasuke's uncle, the less she liked him, but she figured the music business would be a difficult business to break into if she avoided every single person she didn't like.

"I have," she replied.

Sasuke, seated beside her in the other hard-backed wooden chair, didn't look impressed with his uncle's showiness. His arms were folded, his gaze bored. Sakura guessed it had to have been wearing, being the nephew of a man like that.

"And you've decided to join us?"

"Yes. I have. If you still want me."

Madara smiled. It was decidedly unpleasant, but before she had time to question it, he'd slammed a packet of about thirty papers on the desk between them.

"Excellent. Then here's your contract. Sign and date, please. I'll fix it over to Sharingan Records when you're finished, then we can talk studio session."

Sakura pulled the papers towards her, but the type was so cramped and full of such complicated legal jargon that she couldn't even pretend to understand what it was saying. "'Exclusives with nonmutual option,'" she read aloud. "'Three-year exclusivity clause'…what does any of this even mean?"

"Just bureaucratic red tape," Madara said reassuringly. "Sign here," he told her, indicating a line on the bottom of the first page, and he spoke with such authority that she found herself scrawling her signature on the paper obediently. "And initial here…" He pointed to a box on the second page.

Sakura signed each and every slip of paper, feeling vaguely like she was literally signing her soul away to the devil, but Madara was so intimidating, the thought of speaking up didn't even occur to her. When she was through, he gathered the papers up with a smirk, and loaded them into a state-of-the-art fax machine sitting on the corner of his desk.

"While we're waiting for the confirmation from Sharingan Records, verifying that everything is in order," Madara said, surveying them from behind his laced fingertips, "let's discuss what the next few months are going to be like for you."

"Shouldn't we wait for the rest of the band?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sure what I'm about to tell you two will be delivered to them soon enough," Madara replied dryly. "And please, Miss Haruno, no interruptions. Now then. Tomorrow morning, you'll meet with the recording executives over at Sharingan. You'll audition with three songs. So I suggest Miss Haruno, that you take tonight to learn at least three of Ramen Holiday's songs, and figure out a way to incorporate your vocals and musicianship into it in a way that enhances the sound."

"You're giving her one day to learn our shit?" snapped Sasuke. "Unbelievable. The ink ain't even dry yet on her contract."

"You wanted in the music business, did you not?" his uncle said coolly. "Wise up, Sasuke. This isn't your high school Prom gig. This is the big leagues. She can either shape up or ship out, and I'm sure a musician of her talents will cotton on fairly quickly."

"What about her songs?" Sasuke demanded. "We have to learn hers, too? How long do we have to do that?"

"We're thinking that the first album will be Ramen Holiday's original songs, with the addition of Miss Haruno here. That's what Sharingan's looking for. She can contribute more to the next album, but we're running short on time here, and we don't have time to wait for you all to come up with a brand new set list."

Sakura bit her lip. She understood the logic of it; Sharingan hadn't heard any of her music yet, so of course they wouldn't be interested in what she could do. They were after Ramen Holiday, and now that she was a part of that, there was no backing out. Learning their music, and shelving her own, was the best option.

It just felt wrong. It felt like a betrayal of her craft. Was she selling out or something? It certainly felt like it.

"So, provided the studio session tomorrow goes well…we'll begin the recording process, along with a few press junkets, some photo shoots…I'm hiring a rep to handle the PR for you all. We're taking it in a different direction now that Miss Haruno's on board, increasing our market to appeal to male AND female consumers…"

Sakura understood very, very little of what was happening, but judging by the look on Sasuke's face, it wasn't prophetic of anything good. His expression was full of irritation and mistrust, and Sakura felt a thrill of unease course through her. What did she just do?

"Bright and early tomorrow. 9 am. Sharingan Records downtown, I want all of you warmed up and ready to go. Learn the songs, Miss Haruno. Sasuke, make the necessary adjustments to fit her in, whatever you have to do. And the rest…leave to me. Understand? Excellent."

Madara stood, long black hair tumbling down his shoulders, and he stuck his hand out to Sakura with an almost sinister smile.

"Welcome to Ramen Holiday, Miss Haruno."

* * *

**note..** well, there it is! sakura's in ramen holiday. boring set-up stuff is out of the way, and i can get into some action. hope you liked it! let me knowwww :)

xoxo day-zee.


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